The agreement is the latest in a list of Linux-related partnerships for Microsoft that began with Novell in November 2006 and has also included Samsung, Fuji Xerox, LG Electronics, and Xandros.

It sees Microsoft and San Diego, California-based Linspire teaming up on document format compatibility, instant messaging, fonts, digital media, and web search. It also includes a patent covenant from Microsoft not to sue Linspire’s customers for patent infringement that could see Linspire prevented from distributing Linux and open source code licensed with the forthcoming GPLv3.

Specifically, Linspire will license Microsoft’s RT Audio Codec to enable voice-enabled interoperability between Linspire’s Pidgin client and Microsoft’s Office Communicator and Live Messenger instant messaging clients.

The Linux distributor is also licensing a number of Microsoft TrueType fonts and has agreed to support Windows Media 10 audio and video codecs. These three technologies will only be available to Linspire users if they purchase a patent SKU according to Linspire, and they will not be included in the community-developed Freespire.

Both Linspire and Freespire will, however, feature the results of the open source Open XML Translator project to enable translation between Microsoft’s Office file formats and the OpenDocument Formats used in OpenOffice.org. Linspire announced that it will join Novell in participating in the project.

Microsoft and Linspire also announced that Linspire will use Microsoft’s Live Search feature as the default search engine on the Linspire operating system.

In a letter posted on Linspire’s web site, president and CEO Kevin Carmony said that he had approached Microsoft a year and a half ago about working together to make a ‘better’ Linux and insisted that the agreement complies with the current GNU General Public License with which Linux is licensed.

That might not remain the case given the latest draft of the forthcoming GPLv3, however. The Free Software Foundation changed the wording of the new license, which is due to be published on June 29, in order to avoid a repeat of Microsoft’s patent deal with Novell.

The last call draft stated: You may not convey a covered work if you are a party to an arrangement with a third party that is in the business of distributing software, under which you make payment to the third party based on the extent of your activity of conveying the work, and under which the third party grants, to any of the parties who would receive the covered work from you, a discriminatory patent license.

The Novell agreement was excluded from this on the basis that its patent covenant will pass to all users of GPLv3 code thanks to Microsoft’s distribution of SUSE Linux Enterprise subscriptions, but the FSF attempted to prevent a repeat by applying the above clause to any deal done after 28 March 2007.

Microsoft has continued to make Linux patent deals regardless, with the Xandros, LG Electronics and now Linspire agreements having occurred after the publication of the last call draft. Any response from the FSF is unlikely until the GPLv3 is published and open source projects begin adopting the new license.

Microsoft and Linspire have a colorful history. Linspire famously began life as Lindows but changed its name in 2004 after Microsoft claimed the name infringed its Windows trademark.

Microsoft failed to secure an injunction against the Linux distributor in the US, where the judge hearing the case questioned whether the word windows was entitled to trademark protection at all, but was more successful in Europe.

The threat of fines – as well as a $20m settlement from Microsoft – eventually encouraged Lindows to become Linspire.

Our View

It is not at all surprising to see Linspire signing up to Microsoft’s collaboration and Linux plan. Despite its early run-in with Microsoft, Linspire has always taken the approach that the ends justified the means if the inclusion of proprietary drivers and codecs in desktop Linux encouraged adoption.

It appears that Carmony has significantly changed his opinion of both Microsoft and patent protection deals in recent months, however. In a letter posted on the company’s web site the day after Novell entered into its agreement with Microsoft he wrote:

I believe any company has a right to protect their IP. I would just rather have an outside source, such as the court system or discussion with the broader Linux companies, determine the extent of any Microsoft IP in Linux. This way, such IP could be removed or alternatives and pricing considered in an open environment, not behind closed doors at Novell and Microsoft headquarters.

Considering Carmony’s claim to have been in negotiation with Microsoft for a year and a half on interoperability, this statement from November also makes for interesting reading:

Linspire has had many meetings with Microsoft to try and solve media, document, and DRM interoperability problems. Our experience has been that Microsoft gives a lot of lip service to wanting to work with open source Linux, but then proceeds to drag their feet and delay in actually delivering anything meaningful.

When the dust settles around this partnership, it will be interesting to see the reaction from the Linux and open source community. Will they embrace Novell and Microsoft’s IP plan or will Microsoft continue seeing its attempts to hold back open source rendered futile? he asked.

It seems we now have an answer to that.